Piarists

Scheduled to Visit:
St. Matthew Parish, Limerick and St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish, Sanford

The Religious Order known as the Piarist Fathers was founded in Rome in the 16^th century by a Spanish priest named St. Joseph Calasanz. The order was founded to respond to a particular societal need at the time which was to offer a holistic education to children and youth from very poor backgrounds. Since then, their mission has grown all over the world.

In the central African region for which the collection will be made, they are present in four countries: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. All together, they run 14 elementary schools, four high schools, two centers of professional education, and eight parishes.

They are involved in humanitarian, pastoral and educational activities, saying they believe that with the present situation of poverty and underdevelopment, education and humanitarian attention is the best approach to transform the situation.

However, for the past four years, the English-speaking region of Cameroon where they have been present for more than 30 years has been plagued by a disastrous socio-political crisis. As a result of this crisis, many families have been displaced, a lot of property has been destroyed, and many lives lost. The situation has brought untold effects on the families and the children, in particular, hunger, joblessness, and worst of all, a disruption in the education of the children.

Faced with this situation, the Piarist Fathers have been at the front line to come to the aid of these people in any way they can. They have organized home classes in Kumbo in order to teach the children who for four years have not gone to school. In Bamenda, they would like to start an agricultural training program for women so that they can later be able to feed their families. In Bandjoun, they have opened an English section in a French -speaking school so as to welcome displaced children running away from the war zone.

The situation has created numerous needs. That is they we are reaching out to you to ask for your prayers and financial assistance. Your kind donation will feed the hungry and bring back life to desperate families.

The Piarist Fathers write, “We are grateful to the Diocesan Mission Office for giving us the chance to share our story. Whatever you can do for these children and their families, we will be grateful, and we assure you of our prayers for God’s abundant blessings upon you.

If you would like to learn more bout the Piarists, visit their website.